BEER CAN FOUND AFTER FATAL CRASH.

Byline: Daily News

ACTON - A Palmdale woman may have been drinking before a head-on crash that killed her and injured the other motorist, California Highway Patrol officials said.

A Coors Light beer can was found between the legs of Kimberly Joy Ramirez, 40, when her body was pulled from the wreckage of her 1992 Wrangler, a CHP report said.

Ramirez' Wrangler had been heading north on Sierra Highway on Tuesday when it inexplicably veered over the double-yellow lines and hit an oncoming Ford F-250 pickup truck head-on, the report said.

Darrell Lee Smith, 63, of Palmdale, the pickup's driver, had no time to take evasive action before the Wrangler hit his truck, the report said. He suffered chest trauma and was flown to Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, where he was treated and sent home, officials said.

The crash occurred about 1:35 p.m. Wednesday just north of Sierra Highway's junction with Soledad Canyon Road, between Acton and Palmdale, officials said. Smith's pickup had been traveling 50 to 55 mph, the CHP said. They didn't know how fast the Wrangler had been driving.

The crash closed the highway for hours.